REPRESENTATIVES from Huncoat Forum and Baxenden Community Forum are off to Nottingham on Saturday to view a community centre.

But this is no ordinary centre. It is the first of many in a nationwide project which brings local people, architects and council officials together to design a purpose-built centre specifically for that community.

Mark Hopley, a co-ordinator for Prospects, the Hyndburn environmental group, said: "We hope to be adopting this method, the Walter Segal Self Build Trust, which is networked throughout the country, to Hyndburn.

"The aims are fairly straightforward. Because you have all people involved from design to building, bearing in mind that the materials used are environmentally friendly and energy conservation playing a major role, the end product can only be a centre that people want and a price that council officials want."

Prospects also has the backing of North West Water and Hilden Manufacturing from Oswaldtwistle.

"It makes perfect sense to build a centre in this way because the more local people involved from the offset reduces the risk of vandalism in the future," added Mr Hopley.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.